Texas A&M architecture professors and CHSD faculty fellows Charles Culp and Jeff Haberl were among university faculty honored for their work on one of 15 patents recently awarded to Texas A&M faculty. The inventors were feted at the Feb. 23 Patent and Innovation 2007 Awards luncheon sponsored by the Texas A&M University System Office of Technology Commercialization.
The invention earning Culp and Haberl this distinguished honor — United States Patent Number 6,996,508 — is a system and method for remote retrofit identification of energy consumption systems and components.
Culp currently serves as associate director of the Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL) at the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES). He earned a doctorate in solid-state physics from Iowa State University with a minor in electrical engineering. A licensed engineer and holder of 11 U.S. patents, Culp has over 25 years of academic and professional experience in engineering, research, teaching and management.
Haberl also serves ELS asssociate director. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1986 and has been conducting research for almost 30 years in areas related to energy system efficiency, renewable energy and intelligent measurement system.
“This celebration is an acknowledgement of your imagination, your spirit of innovation, and the positive influence you and the A&M System have on our state, country and world,” said Texas A&M University System Chancellor Michael D. McKinney, M.D., who delivered the keynote address. “It takes a special vision to see how a discovery can lead to an end product. You — the inventors, discoverers and innovators of the A&M System — are part of a great heritage. The entire A&M System has long been dedicated to the principles of making higher education accessible to all who strive for self-betterment, and for bringing practical solutions to the world. We have an obligation to bring your innovations to the public, to take a leadership role in developing discoveries that have the potential to improve lives.”
Guy Diedrich, A&M System vice chancellor for technology commercialization, added, “You are the ‘idea’ people, the intellectual capital of the A&M System. The Office of Technology Commercialization is dedicated to partnering with you and with our industry partners, to bring A&M System discoveries in medicine, agriculture, energy, chemical industries, biofuels, even intelligent vision and robotics, to the marketplace. The value of our activity is best measured when considering your outstanding research, the investment in new ventures, and the resulting benefits to society, including economic development.”
With the Energy Systems Laboratory, Haberl ande Culp are currently developing analysis procedures for Texas Senate Bill 5, legislation enacted to reduce ozone pollution in metropolitan areas. The ESL has been the primary contractor for the Texas LoanSTAR program since 1990. The program has saved the taxpayers in Texas over $109.2 million in state revenue in the form of reduced energy use in state facilities.
